Mid-Rise Office Re-cladding Nears Completion in Summerhill

The reinvention of a 120,000 ft², 6-storey mixed-use commercial building in Toronto’s Summerhill neighbourhood is well underway at 1133 Yonge Street, as renovations to the building’s structure enter the closing stages of construction, with an anticipated completion later this year.

Located at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Shaftsbury Avenue, the building is just west of Summerhill subway station, and almost immediately north of the CP rail corridor and the North Toronto Station with its flagship LCBO. Designed by Studio JCI for Old Stonehedge Development Corporation and the Clifton Blake Group, the project’s $6 million reconstruction is bringing a new aesthetic—and new street-level retail space—to the foot of the mid-rise building.

Alongside the refreshed office space, 1133 Yonge will devote over 6,000 ft² to commercial retail use. While the site’s commercial vendors have yet to be announced, plans demonstrate that the building could also boast a restaurant—with a 750 ft² outdoor patio—on the second level, in addition to the street-fronting retailers on Yonge.

Ongoing construction on 1133 Yonge, Toronto, image via Alexander Vu

As seen in recent site photos, installation of the new, glassier cladding—including curved glass at the corners—is nearing completion in anticipation of the project’s taregeted 2017 completion. While the re-cladding of the building’s curtain wall is now in its final stages—extending up the building’s exterior to its top floors—construction of the building’s ground level and the reconfiguration of the curved entrance way continues to take shape. Along the building's south face, series of angled balconies will animate the flat frontage, with the restaurant patio situated below.

The project has expanded in scope since the proposal was first submitted to the City in May of 2015. Originally restricted to a series of internal renovations to 1133 Yonge’s ground level, and its third and sixth floor office spaces, stair access to the building’s fourth, fifth and sixth floors was to be removed and infilled and replaced with new elevators.

Following that proposal’s approval, a revision was submitted—and approved—in 2016, expanding construction to the building’s exterior, which sees the former brick exterior re-clad, providing the office building with a more sleek and glassy curtain wall façade. The redesign stands in contrast to the brick exteriors of the area’s older buildings—including 1133 Yonge’s neighbouring sister building at 1155 Yonge.

1155 and 1133 Yonge (l-r), 3D aerial view via Google Maps

A few blocks south on Yonge Street, meanwhile, the same team of Old Stonehenge, Clifton Blake, and Studio JCI is working on Hill and Dale Residences, which also re-imagines an older street-fronting building. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment on this page, or join the ongoing conversations in our associated Forum thread.